VR Gaming and Its Impact on Functional Status and Quality of Life in Seniors

NCT ID: NCT06864325

Last Updated: 2025-03-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 39 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-07-17
• Study Completion Date: 2024-09-30

Brief Summary

This project examined the impact of virtual reality (VR)-based physical activity on the functional status and quality of life (QoL) of older residents in a nursing home. It is know that VR-related therapy and activation programs help in a positive attitude toward health and emotions, reduce susceptibility to depression and social isolation, and enhance engagement in physical activities. As an atrractive and motivating tools, VR have the potential to promote greater physical activity and overall improvement, including functional status and QoL in older adults. Such findings indicate that incorporating VR into exercise programs for the older adults may enhancements in functional status and QoL compared to traditional, non-VR-based therapy.

The primary goal of this study was to assess changes in functional status and QoL in older participants in VR-based physical activity. The project involves a comprehensive evaluation, including assessments of physical and psychomotor fitness, body composition, key blood morphology parameters, lipid profile, blood glucose levels, oral microbiome composition, and overall well-being. Additionally, psychological factors such as anxiety levels is examined, assuming that these parameters may improve through VR-enhanced physical activity.

The investigators hypothesize that VR-based therapy will leads to significant improvements in psychomotor and functional fitness, exercise tolerance, and overall well-being, thereby enhancing the QoL in older adults. The findings of this research may contribute to the development of innovative programs aimed at supporting elderly individuals in maintaining and improving their functional status-whether during recovery, rehabilitation, or in sustaining optimal physical and mental health.

Detailed Description

The project involved older adults residing in a nursing home, who are randomly assigned to one of two study groups: the intervention group with participants undergo virtual reality (VR)-based training, and the control group with participants engage in standard activities provided by the nursing home. Our study design assumes that the participants will undergo 2 rounds of testing conducted before therapy to evaluate the subjects' initial condition (T0 testing), and after therapy to assess the effects of the intervention (T1 testing). These assessments will be separated by a four-week period during which the intervention group completes 12 VR-based sessions.

Scope of assessments at T0 and T1 includes:

I. survey studies - introductory custom questionnaire, questionnaires assessing mental health, quality of life, functional fitness in daily activities, complex activities of daily living, and functional independence; II. psychomotor assessments - tests of eye-hand coordination and attention concentration; III. physical fitness assessment - grip strength measurements, general physical fitness evaluation, analysis of body composition; IV. lifestyle and biological assessments - oral microbiota assessment, laboratory tests including peripheral blood morphology, lipid profile, glucose level and C-reactive protein concentration, and analysis of nutritional habits.

Moreover, participants in the intervention group during VR gaming possess evaluation of parameters indicating intervention effectiveness, and measurement of heart rate, energy expenditure, and oxygen saturation levels.

Conditions

Older Adults

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

VR group

The VR group underwent a four-week training program, with sessions held three times per week, each lasting 20 minutes. Initially, an introductory session was organized to familiarize the participants with virtual reality. Following this, the structured training program consisted of 12 sessions over the four-week period. All sessions were conducted in a seated position to ensure comfort and safety.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

VR-training

Intervention Type: OTHER

The VR gaming experience is based on the commercial rhythm game Beat Saber, featuring songs by Queen with varying rhythms and tempos. Players receive visual stimuli in the form of colored square blocks and must slice them in time with the music using the corresponding right or left hand. The blocks must be cut with a lightsaber of the same color. To ensure the safety of older adults, heart rate and energy expenditure were monitored throughout each session, while oxygen saturation was assessed before and after the exercises. Participants playe the game in comfortable conditions: the game loaded directly into the headset and VR glasses synchronized with portable screens to allow monitoring and assistance if needed. Before each session, the headset was adjusted to fit the participant's head dimensions, and corrective glasses were provided if required. The VR setup included a Meta Quest 2 headset with goggles and user-friendly controllers equipped with sensors (Meta Platforms, U.S.).

Control group

The control group was a passive group that do not receive any specific intervention, engaging only in the standard daily exercises provided at the nursing home.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

VR-training

The VR gaming experience is based on the commercial rhythm game Beat Saber, featuring songs by Queen with varying rhythms and tempos. Players receive visual stimuli in the form of colored square blocks and must slice them in time with the music using the corresponding right or left hand. The blocks must be cut with a lightsaber of the same color. To ensure the safety of older adults, heart rate and energy expenditure were monitored throughout each session, while oxygen saturation was assessed before and after the exercises. Participants playe the game in comfortable conditions: the game loaded directly into the headset and VR glasses synchronized with portable screens to allow monitoring and assistance if needed. Before each session, the headset was adjusted to fit the participant's head dimensions, and corrective glasses were provided if required. The VR setup included a Meta Quest 2 headset with goggles and user-friendly controllers equipped with sensors (Meta Platforms, U.S.).

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

VR-gaming

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• age 60 or older
• signing an informed consent to participate in the study
• willingness to participate in the therapy program.

Exclusion Criteria

• lack of consent
• contraindications to VR headset using (current temporary conditions: fatigue or exhaustion, drowsiness, nausea, anxiety or stress, cold, flu)
• chronic conditions (cancer in an intensive treatment phase, inability to exercise, visual or auditory disorders preventing VR goggles use, cognitive disorders that hindered understanding exercise instructions or cooperation with the researcher).

Eligibility was determined by a physician who assessed each participant's health condition, and screened for contraindications to a head-mounted display VR use.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Opole University of Technology

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Żaneta Grzywacz

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology

Opole, , Poland

Faculty of Production Engineering and Logistics, Opole University of Technology

Opole, , Poland

Countries

Poland

Other Identifiers

OpoleUofTech5

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id